Japan win by PKs

Belgium win by PKs

We met them 5 times in the last 20 years:
2 wins for Japan.
2 draws.
1 win for Belgium.

I think it is more beneficial to face Belgium as some of our players played 3 times previuosly against them (Nagatomo) while Kawashima, both Sakais, Osako, Hasebe, Okazaki and Honda played against them twice (Okazaki scored in 2009 and 2013, and Honda in 2013). So our players are familiar with Belgium.

The last year's result (0-1) defeat in Belgium after a defensive mistake might give the Belgians a false assuring and they might take the game for granted.
However, it is worth noting that we played with an experimental line-up then, with the likes of Nagasawa and Morioka, and our midfield suffered from not having a playmaker like Kagawa, who both holds position and controls traffic in the midfield.

With Kagawa around this time and returning to form, and with Belgium not having a home advantage, I really think that Japan has a chance to reach the QF.

1. Belgium has been in good form and has matured as a NT with a good coach to win this game
2. I think on the other side Japanese players are a bit unhappy about their manager not trusting in them and pulling shitty antics
3. I also think the team would actually benefited by playing a bit more together against Poland and maybe winning the game.

Thus I fully expect

a) Belgium to have a shit load of support from the media to the specators in that match making it all feel like it is an away game
b) Players wont play with all their heart as they should because of plenty distractions
c) They will get absolutely trashed

I think Belgium are overrated. As I said in the other thread they have great players but they don't always played a cohesive unit. Japan can already consider this tournament a success considering expectations were so low but they'll give everything to win and you just never know. Belgium are obviously huge favourites with a much stronger team but if Japan fight together and stay cohesive they have a chance.

Belgium proved themselves as possible front-runners to lift the trophy, but I'm not sold. I still they'll crush us, but they might already go out against Brazil or even Mexico, because they lack full-backs and a real regista.

Let's not be overawed with this Belgium team. So far, they've been a Golden Generation team that has never been quite as good as you would expect from their EPL star-studded lineup. At WC 2014, the USA almost beat them (Chris Wondolowski's notorious miss), and at Euro 2016 they lost to Wales. Whether Roberto Martinez can finally get the best out of them is still an open question after their easy group stage. Yes, they have a ridiculous amount of talent and are the clear favorites. But Japan has a chance.

They're an excellent team but recent history (the friendly) shows that we can hold our own. It's never more than one football match so anything is possible, with the right though cause the substitutes have proven unreliable.

Only 2 years ago, I would have not betted a single penny on Iceland to defeat England in the round of 16, but they did it. Just 2 weeks ago, I didn't think Switzerland would stand a chance to get a result against Brazil, but they snatched a draw.

One thing that the current World Cup tells us is that no one is safe from an upset. The team that has every man fighting for the one next to him will have all chances they need to win it. We have beaten those guys before and we held our own well in our last encounter, so anything is possible.

The Belgian press is going for an easy win, all they talk about is Brazil in the QF. In fact they don’t know anything about Japan saying complete moronic and plain wrong things. Yashido and Osaka during live games all the time, claiming they’ve been playing Japan in November ‘17 with a B-team while it was the other way around, so on and so on... Pretty irritating.

But unfortunately we’re not playing Belgian reporters. With the group of players Belgium has they are obviously clear favorites, but for the first time I also have the feeling there’s real chemistry. I never felt they could achieve anything in Brazil ‘14 and France ‘16 but this time it’s different. Although they haven’t been tested the past games they’re really playing very well.

If we play too defensive we’re lost. Belgium has been playing qualifiers against opponents who all camped around the penalty area and with exception of Greece (draw) they all lost. And we simply don’t have a team that can play like that to begin with.

We need Japanese style ball possession and lots of it. But even then... I’m guessing we’ll actually get the ball to play around in the midfield since Belgium doesn’t put high pressure. But that’s exactly what they’re aiming for, recover the ball and attack the free space with Hazard and Lukaku. I’m pretty sure they’re the best relaunch team at the WC. And judging by the silly ball losses we’ve suffered even during the Senegal/Colombia matches that’s bound to happen I’m afraid...

Belgium’s weakness is in the defence. Boyata in the center doesn’t have the same level as the other defenders. But both Kompany and Vermaelen were Both Meunier and Carrasco - no real defenders - tend to make defensive mistakes that Nagatomo and especially Sakai H should be able to exploit.

Either way I’ll have a team to support in the QF, hope Japan will somehow make it through tho!

Belgium started with their full-strength team, as Eden Hazard, Lukaku, De Bruyne and the other regulars all started.
In the other hand, Japan played without Hasebe, Okazaki, Kagawa, Honda and Shibasakii (Shoji was on the bench, but did not play as Vahid picked Makino ahead of him). While, Ideguchi, Nagasawa, Asano, Yamaguchi all started for Japan, with Morioka and Sugimoto came in as subs in the second half. Hasebe stayed on the bench for the full 90 minutes.

So it was full-strength Belgium vs an experimenta Japan, yet they won narrowly by one goal at their home stadium after a defensive mistake by the Japanese defence.

Belgium and Japan meet Monday in World Cup soccer action at the Rostov Arena.

Belgium has been one of the more impressive teams this tournament, as it swept its group with wins over Panama, Tunisia and England. Belgium has scored nine goals and has a goal differential of +7, both are currently the best of any team in the tournament. The Red Devils are simply flexing their muscle offensively and showing just how skilled they are with the ball. While most teams in this tournament have one or two players who can make a difference, Belgium has many players who can find the back of the net and has five players on its current squad with double-digit international goals. Keep in mind that there’s going to be a rested Romelu Lukaku for this match, as he sat out the meeting against England. There’s a lot to like about the form of Belgium right now and just how explosive this club has been in three matches. Belgium hopes to make the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time since 1986.

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Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

I am sorry to tell you that Belgium will not make it to the quarterfinals.

They are yet to face a possession team, like Japan, which is the kind of the teams that will expose Belgium's shortcoming and capitalise on them.

Japan had a disallowed goal late in the second half which would have sealed the victory for them.
Moreover, they were nervous and paralyzed by the event ahead of Belgium's opening goal, and they were only freed after conceding that goal and began to play more affectively after that (according to their coach Troussier's comments after the match).

So, if it was not their first WC match in their home-soil, and if these players were more experienced back then, the result would be defenitely a win for Japan.

I'm not convinced. I see Belgium having the best of us, especially if they'll be able to score in the first half.

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Japan need to maintain possession and play like they did against Colombia and Senegal. They will get knocked out if they play the same way against Poland, Belgium have too many attacking threats and hence dangerous on the counter-attacks. Japan will not get out if they play too defensively.

Past games and stats mean nothing. It's all about who turns up on the day. I'm not expecting too much but I'm definitely hopeful.

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As @Saku² said recent results showed that we can hold ourselves against them, and we can even win.
It is not like that it will be an easy ride for Belgium, that they have to take for granted, neither it will be -easily- the game in which Lukaku will raise his goal tally to guarantee the golden boot.

Guys are talking about Japan as if it is San Marino or Gibraltar -with all due respect to this two teams-.

Belgium was not so overwhelming in thier two games against Panama and Tunisia considering the context of both games.

Against Panama, Belgium struggled to break down Panama's defence for the whole first half, and it was not until Mertens scored Belgium's opener that the Panama's defence began to open up as they tried to score a goal.
While against Tunisia, they benefited from many factors:
1- Two horrible mistakes from Tunisia's No.12 -Ali Maaloul- to score two of their first half goals (he passed the ball directly to Belgium players deep into Tunisia's defensive area).
2- The early penalty kick that Hazard converted, which made the Tunisians attack to score a goal so they will not get eliminated, which opened gaps in Tunisia's defence.
3- The two second half goals all came as counter-attacks as Tunisians pushed further forward.
Yet, Tunisia, who played without their injured main striker -Youssef Msakni-, were threatening whenever they attacked, scoring two goals and had the possibility to score more.
The scoreline does not reflect what was going in the match.

That's said and with Japan is better in both offensive and defensive ends, and having a better midfield which can hold possession -especially with Kagawa, Shibasaki, Hasebe and Shoji's surges from defence towards the middle of the park-, I really think Japan has a good chance to defeat Belgium.